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Thursday, March 22, 2012

In presenting this post on the issue of health care, I would like to begin with a passage from a study done by the Employee Benefit Research Institure (EBRI).

This [EBRI] article examines the impact that repealing PPACA [Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act] would have on savings targets [read costs] for health care expenses in retirement. The estimates suggest that retirees with high levels of prescription drug use throughout retirement would see their savings targets [costs] increase roughly 30-40 percent were the coverage gap reduction in PPACA repealed.

To learn more about the EBRI report and retiree health care costs, please continue across the jump.The EBRI report further states that "[r]epeal of PPACA, as advocated by congressional Republicans, could mean a return to the coverage gap for Part D enrollees, increasing their out-of-pocket costs and the savings needed to cover their health care expenses in retirement."

Specifically, the EBRI report (PDF) discusses how the Affordable Care Act helps reduce the gap (aka "donut hole") in the Part D prescription drug coverage of the Medicare program. According to the EBRI report, the Affordable Care Act would shrink the "donut hole" to where Medicare patients only had to cover 25 percent of the costs vice the original 100 percent and the current 50 percent.

Health care costs for retirees, as for everyone, is very much on the rise. However, the limited resources of retirees make rising health care costs a true burden. To help retirees plan for and manage health care costs, a group under the heading The American Retirement Initiative is working to help Americans plan for medical costs during retirement.

Below is a video presentation (about three minutes long) by Barbara J. Perry, Vice President of Marketing and Membership for Emeriti Retirement Health Solutions. In the video, Ms. Perry illuminates the costs of health care for retirees.

Hyperlinks to various web sites that will provide in-depth information on the topic of retiree health care costs are enclosed below.